The tumultuous off-stage life of lead singer and guitarist Courtney Love > her 1992 marriage to Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and the couple's well publicized drug problems—has sometimes taken the spotlight off Hole and its music. Hole's promising first album, Pretty on the Inside (1991), was a moderate critical and commercial success. The follow-up album, Live Through This (1994), which was released only a week after Cobain's suicide, garnered more accolades, however, named Record of the Year by both Rolling Stone and Spin. The band's latest release has had its share of controversy. Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins (with whom Love has been romantically linked), who received writing credits on several of the disc's songs, publicly stated that “there would not be a new Hole album without me.” Hole has disputed Corgan's statement.

Love has developed a successful acting career. Her most notable role was her Golden Globe-nominated performance opposite Woody Harrelson in The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996). Bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur left the band in 1999 to join the Smashing Pumpkins. She was replaced by Jill Emery.